Thursday, February 28, 2013

How did the Rich get their Wealth? By stealing the Labor and Wealth of the Poor. You can call it whatever new name the Rich have dreamed up; Austerity, Fix-the-Debt, Sequestration, Trickle Down Economics but it's all the Rich using the Power of Government to steal from the Middle Class and the Poor.

Now, for the past 30 years Republicans have gotten bolder and more outspoken in their plans to help the Rich institute a Neo-Feudalist Wage Slave State under Corporate Dominance.

"I've been dealing with the minimum wage issue for the last 28 years that I've been in elected office," House Speaker John A. Boehner said to reporters on Wednesday. "And when you raise the price of employment, guess what happens? You get less of it."

John Boehner is a Republican; Republicans work for the Rich. Anything which hampers the ability of the Rich to steal more and more of the labor produced by the American Middle and Working Class is anathema to them. The Rich have ordered the Republicans to Destroy the Middle Class, President Obama had better not help them.

Under President Obama Income Inequality has continued to grow and even accelerated. In the third quarter of 2012, Corporate Profits were $1.75 trillion, up 18.6% from a year ago, after-tax profits are at their greatest percentage of GDP in history. But the record profits come at the same time Workers Wageshave fallen to their lowest-ever share of GDP. Pretty Shitty Marxism...

While Corporate Profits are at an all time High, CEOs use the Carried Interest Tax Loophole and Off-Shore Tax Havens to hide Hundreds of Billions of Dollars.

1. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan.

Number of Offshore Tax Havens in 2010? 371.

Amount of federal income taxes Bank of America would have owed if offshore tax havens were eliminated? $2.5 billion.

Amount of federal income taxes Goldman Sachs would have owed if offshore tax havens were eliminated? $3.32 billion.

Taxpayer Bailout from the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department? $824 billion.

During the financial crisis, Goldman Sachs received a total of $814 billion in virtually zero interest loans from the Federal Reserve and a $10 billion bailout from the Treasury Department.

4. General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt

Number of offshore tax havens? At least 14.

Amount of federal income taxes General Electric would have owed if offshore tax havens were eliminated? $35.7 billion.

GE has stashed $102 billion in offshore tax haven countries to avoid paying income taxes. If this practice was outlawed, it would have paid $35.7 billion more in federal income taxes.Amount of federal income taxes paid in 2010? Zero. $3.3 billion tax refund. In 2010, not only did General Electric pay no federal income taxes, it received a $3.3 billion tax refund from the IRS, even though it earned over $5 billion in U.S. profits.

Taxpayer Bailout from the Federal Reserve? $16 billion.During the financial crisis, the Federal Reserve provided GE with $16 billion in

financial assistance, at a time when Jeffrey Immelt was a director of the New York Federal Reserve.

Jobs Shipped Overseas? At least 25,000 since 2001.

5. Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam

Amount of federal income taxes paid in 2010? Zero. $705 million tax refund.

In 2010, Verizon received a $705 million refund from the IRS despite earning $11.9 billion in pre-tax U.S. profits.

Amount of federal income taxes Verizon would have owed if offshore tax havens were eliminated? $525 million.

Verizon has stashed $1.5 billion in offshore tax havens to avoid paying U.S. income taxes. Verizon would owe an estimated $525 million in federal income taxes if its use of offshore tax avoidance was eliminated.

American Jobs Cut in 2010? In 2010, Verizon announced 13,000 job cuts, the third highest corporate layoff total that year.

Beyond Welfare Queens these Moocher Corporations, who use legerdemain and duplicitous book keeping to "make" profits, are Welfare Emperors and Pharaohs.

Thus the Nation's Wealth continues to consolidate in the hands of the Very Rich with the 1% controlling over 40% of Country's Wealth.

The Rich hate America. The "American Dream" isn't their Dream. Their interests never line up with that which concerns the 99%. The Rich don't recognize a need for a Clean Water Act, it's just an impediment to their pursuit of Profits. The Rich don't see a need for Obamacare or Medicaid or Medicare. Those Government Regulations and Officials undercut their attempts to extract as much profit from the sick, dying and old. They don't see Social Security as an asset to aid in retirement but as a pool of unrealized Capital.

Unionized and Pensioned Municipal Workers are a threat as the stability and relative job security take away the Rich's Most Powerful weapon, the layoff and firings.

But, all of the maneuvers by the Rich are designed to crush the Middle Class. A thriving Middle Class is always a Danger to the 1%. And how do you crush a wide disparate group of people? Why Divide & Conquer.

So, in 2009 the Plutocrats gave explicit instructions that every outlet they control would blame President Obama for everything wrong. And the Rich knew the work they had done with Conservative Think Tanks and Toxic Right-Wing Radio had cultivated a Ready Audience eager to blame the Other, Barack Hussein Obama, for all the Nations' Woes. Or as Bill Maher succinctly summed up the Conservative Message, 'America was just swell until President Blackenstein and his group of Thugs ruined everything.'

Of course, the Plutocracy's Economic Hit Job and their Republican Hit Men have been working for decades using Piss Down Your Back and Tell you It's Raining Trickle Down Theory to undercut the Middle Class and increase Income Inequality.

Sequestration is just another technique to hamper the Government. But, the Government functions which will be hampered aren't those that affect Rich. The Sequester provides the Plutocracy with yet another opportunity to grind the Middle Class into dust. After which the Rich will swoop in like Vultures and pick at the remnants.

But, all of this is just new names and a new twist to the Very Old Dance the Rich and Powerful have engaged in throughout Recorded History. Fix-the-Debt and Austerity are just new names for the techniques the Rich have always used to steal from the People. And that is Slavery.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Chicago has become the go to example for Gun Nuts to decry Gun Control measures. Insane Gun Huggers scream out Chicago!!! as the definitive case of failed Gun Control. And why? Because ALEC, the NRA and the Gun Nuts have undercut sensible gun laws and undermined the safety of Chicagoans and the American People.

Of the 50,000 guns recovered between 2001 and March 2012 in Chicago, more than half came from outside the state.The majority of Guns used in commission of crimes inside Chicago come from outside the city. So, thanks NRA for allowing the laxity of irresponsible gun nuts to kill children in Chicago. It's almost as if Wayne LaPierre and David Keene enjoy when children die.

Now, Illinois has been court ordered to pass a Conceal Carry law by June 2013.

Here's the situation. You are a responsible gun owner. You now have a brand new conceal carry license/permit.

Bang! Bang! Bang! You're near the park at Roosevelt Rd and California Ave. You hear multiple shots, being incredibly brave (or crazy) you advance towards the sound of gunfire. You rush into the park and see two individuals with guns:

Person 1 is pointing a weapon at Person 2. Person 2 has a gun drawn but it appears to be in the "alert" position. At the feet of Person 2 is Person 3 apparently bleeding profusely.

Now, which one do you shoot? Go!

There is no PC Logo spinning over the head of Person 2 identifying him as the "good guy". Person 1 doesn't have on a black hat.Identification is nigh impossible and in most cases couch-borne concealed carry commandos aren't going to get clean shots. And unlike in video games, which the NRA are set upon Blaming for Gun Violence, when some Gun Nuts caps an innocent it doesn't just cost the shooter some points.

But, while having to worry about the looming gun fights from buffoonish Gun Nuts and Gang Bangers, Chicagoland Police Officers keep committing crimes and official misconduct. Thanks for making the Job harder for the rest of us Officers!

In January, three Schaumburg Police Officers - John Cichy, Matthew Hudak and Terrance O'Brien - were arrested and accused of peddling marijuana and cocaine in DuPage County for at least six months. Prosecutors said they skimmed from police drug seizures.

"Quite frankly, it makes me sick to my stomach," Jack Riley, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration in the Midwest said. "From my point of view, I'm battling the Mexican cartels (and) 100,000 street gang members in Chicago — and now I've got to worry about this."

DUI arrests are the easiest arrests to make if your work "midnights". There really is no need to falsify reports or arrests.So besides dealing with the flow of illegal weapons into the Chicagoland area and their use in the commission of crimes I and my fellow officers have the criminals in our ranks who are undercutting our authority and tarnishing All of Us in the eyes of the law-abiding populace.

In the old Marvel Superhero Role Playing Game of the 1980's, a villain received massive Karma Bonuses (which could be used to increase scores or aid in attacks) if he died a mysterious death. Villains always return in the comics.

Now Dorner proved a great boon for the NRA because Dorner showed that a determined American with a Gun can use Tea Party endorsed "Second Amendment Remedies" to exact justice from Government Officials, while also proving to be the biggest fear of White Knights everywhere,

You know what I am? I'm your worst fuckin' nightmare, man. I'm a *ni[clang]* with a badge which means I got permission to kick your fuckin' ass whenever I feel like it!- Eddie Murphy, 48 Hrs.

However, with all attention focused on the bizarre Dorner/LAPD vendetta, over 1700 Americans have been lost to gun violence. Killed because the NRA and Republicans are busy stoking fears and extracting money from the foolish.

The most Recent Insane NRA Ad pretends the United States is actually the vast wasteland of so many a Dystopic Post-Apocalypse ravaged land where One Lone American and his Gun stand between his homestead and the Hordes who threaten annihilation.

Of course, after blaming videogames and movies, the NRA isn't going to treat the basic underlying problem, that their efforts to push more guns into more hands is fueling the massive number of gun deaths in America.

So, with that in mind Wisconsin NRA Spokesman Bob Welch let it be known that as soon as the "Connecticut Effect" was neutralized the NRA would be back up to it's old tricks of buying politicians to force through their policy of Unrestricted Gun Violence

Here's what the NRA has in mind for America: Thomas Matusiewicz, a 2nd Amendment Hero, took it upon himself to get his son justice when an unelected judge would not give him.

Delaware State Police said Thomas Matusiewicz, 68, walked into the lobby of the New Castle County Courthouse on Monday, pulled out a .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol and shot Christine Belford, a 39-year-old mother, and her friend Laura Mulford, 47. He then exchanged fire with police, striking two officers who were protected by armored vests.

Belford and Mulford, both from Newark, were at the county courthouse on Monday to attend a child support arrears hearing for David Matusiewicz, Belford's ex-husband.

Delaware State Police said David Matusiewicz and his father entered the courthouse lobby about 7:40 a.m. David Matusiewicz went through a security checkpoint while his father remained in the lobby. About a half-hour later, Belford and Mulford entered the lobby, and Thomas Matusiewicz approached and shot them, police said.

Thomas Matusiewicz then exchanged gunfire with police, taking a bullet in the upper body but dying from a self-inflicted gunshot to the head, said Delaware state police spokesman Sgt. Paul Shavack.

The shooting was the culmination of years of strife between the Matusiewicz family and Belford, who battled David Matusiewicz for custody of their three daughters. In 2007, he kidnapped the girls and took them to Central America, court records show.

Justice Republican NRA Style! Of course, the NRA and Gun Nuts blame the courthouse for being a gun-free zone. And that's right, after all the Holy Second Amendment has no provision stating convicted murders brought into the courthouse or estranged husbands bent of vengeance shall not have guns. What part of Shall Not Be Infringed1!!!1! Don't libtards understand?

Even when provided demonstrable evidence that More Guns does not equal more safety:

But that doesn't matter to the NRA. Because the NRA is all about pushing as much product of the Firearms Industry into the Nation as possible. Even if the NRA Plan to Put an Armed Man into Every School is the dream scenario of Child Molesters everywhere and a core plank of the NAMBLA platform, just as Sheriff Joe Arpaio's Posse did,

[an] investigation "uncovered a number of posse members with arrests for assault, drug possession, domestic violence, sex crimes against children, disorderly conduct, impersonating an officer - and the list goes on."

It's not about Safety it's about Money. While the Firearms Industry is enjoying record sales due to all the fear-mongering and evil bullshit spewed by Wayne LaPierre and Davide Keane, the Gun Manufacturers would adore having an automatic deposit of monies from the Federal Government into their accounts.

Just Follow the Money,

We will not surrender. We will not appease. We will buy more guns than ever. We will use them for sport and lawful self-defense more than ever. We will grow the NRA more than ever.

And who is this "We" Wayne is talking about? When Wayne says "We will buy more guns than ever" what he means is keep transferring your wealth to the Makers of Death and the Peddlers of Violence.

Saturday, February 9, 2013

The Republican Plan to eliminate the Post Office is proceeding very nicely. The US Postal Service declared they will be stopping mail delivery on Saturdays.

Now, Republicans do want to have a USPS but it would be a rump left to handle the unprofitable deliveries in Outer Wyoming and the Nevada Nuclear Waste Sites.Incredibly lucrative mail routes, in Manhattan or along the Magnificent Mile in Downtown Chicago will be just handed over to UPS, FedEx, DHL and other private services. And as is their wont, those Corporations will slowly and surely turn the screws, raise prices and add delivery fees for letters which used to cost a stamp.

Gone will be the days when you could mail a post card from the Big Island to Chicago unless, you're willing to pay $20 USC for the privilege of having your mail carried by FedEx.

Privatize, Deregulate and Cede control to Corporations.Of course, the Republicans plan is to destroy the Postal Workers Union because of the Unions strength and the solid Middle Class opportunities provided by a job with the USPS.

Republicans loathe the Middle Class. A Middle Class is a hamper to their political power and proves to fickle for the Plutocracy to control. Republican political maneuvers are directed by their Plutocratic Masters to end the American Dream and bring about a Neo-Feudalist Dream State. As John Nichols of The Nation points out Postal cuts are Austerity on Steroids.

What the Plutocracy wants is a pliant work force with no disposable income. And they aren't disguising their actions, otherwise they wouldn't have run one of the scions, Le Dauphin of Bain Capital W. Mitt Romney for President in 2012.

It's a multi-pronged effort to steal away capital from the Middle and Working Classes. Every Republican tax scheme ends up increasing taxes on the Middle and Working Classes (while decreasing them on the Rich) and slashing government benefits for the American people.

And now by steadily eroding the Post Office (and it's Jobs) and sending that work to cutthroat Capitalists who'll pay less, disband Unions and raise prices the Republicans will cede more and more of your life to Corporate Hegemony.

It's all part of the plan to tie up your meager income so that at the end of the year, you've gained Nothing and are treading water, forever doomed to an endless life of labor, while the Upper 1% see their wealth spiral exponentially higher and higher.

Update:

A working mom could work overtime this month and use it as time off next month without having to worry about whether she’ll be able to take home enough money to pay the rent.

- Republican Eric Cantor explains to the American Enterprise Institute on 02/05/13 how to get Working Class people to vote for their subjugation to the Republican Neo-Feudalist state. Additionally, there's a nice undercurrent of "the Nightmare" of the last couple of years that President Obama and his *cough* black *cough* Thugs have just ruined America!

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Since the NRA endorsed Newton CT Massacre 1600* Americans have been slaughtered by Guns. It's unclear at this time if any of the dead were listed among the 506 organizations, public officals, celebrities and American citizens on the NRA's "Enemies List".

"The NRA is now revealed as an insane organization," Paul Krugman.

I disagree Paul. The NRA isn't insane, they simply have no compunctions or scruples about keeping the spigot of money flowing to the Firearms Industry and rivers of innocent blood flowing in the streets.

So, stories like the 4 people shot, with 3 killed (2 of them children) in Denver today won't dissuade Wayne LaPierre from his Holey Mission.

A Conservative Domestic Terrorist, Jimmy Lee Dykes murdered a bus driver and kidnapped a 6 year old, holding the boy hostage for 8 days in his underground bunker, until a breach and entry killed Dykes.

Chris Kyle, a former Navy SEAL known for claiming a record number of sniper killings in Iraq was one of two men shot dead at a Texas gun range, allegedly at the hands of a fellow military veteran, officials say. Kyle, the author of the best-selling American Sniper, and Chad Littlefield, also a veteran, were gunned down Saturday afternoonon the grounds of the expansive Rough Creek Lodge and Resort in Glen Rose, Texas, southwest of Fort Worth, law enforcement officials said.

Conservative Domestic Terrorists have hopped on the NRA band-wagon that Obama and his children are out-of-touch elitists for having armed security, the Secret Service, around them 24/7 and demand that every red-blooded American be afforded the same rights. (Although Wayne LaPierre is, of course, not an out-of-touch elitist for having armed security.)

And I agree. In order to purchase firearms, every American must go through the same background investigation, psychological examinations, and weapons-handling training that the Secret Service goes through. Any flags which would disqualify one from being an Secret Service Agent will disqualify the person from owning guns.

In 2010, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2,694 children and teens in the United States died because of a firearm. Another 15,578 children and teens were injured.We are not a Free Nation. We, the People are being held hostage to the whims of murderous right-wing terrorists and criminal gangs. The massive influx of firearms into society did not make us safer. It hasn't even presented the illusion of safety.

"I've visited your site before, and I want to tell you this isn't personal, but I don't like your smarmy comments and the way you conduct yourself..."- Blue Pit Bull

"Come back and post when you have some actual LIFE EXPERIENCE to tell us about, you callow and craven ignoramus." - Bloviating Zeppelin

"...you do a good job describing the obvious in a form of intelli-rage that comes across fresh and to the point." - Gwendolyn H. Barry.

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One last thing before I go. I made a CPD friend aware of your blog. He doesn't think you're genuine either but he's looking into you and your posts. But whatever the case he's looking for you and if he finds you he wants for all of your colleagues to see your blog and where you stand on the issues. Later homie! - ChickenHammer